Wednesday, December 12, 2012

I had been fantasizing for weeks about doing a whole,
home-cured ham for the holidays. I always get lots of requests for this kind of
thing, and was fully prepared to give it a go, but then a strange thing
happened, I heard the word “Hamlet.”

It was on TV, and completely unrelated to
cured pork, but for whatever reason the word made me think of cute little,
individually sized hams.That’s all it took, and off I went trying to figure out how
to make this thing happen. I knew I wanted a process that wouldn’t require the
pink curing salts used in commercially produced hams, not because they are
unhealthy, they’re not, but because it would be hard for some of you to find.

I’ve read things in the past about using celery’s naturally
occurring nitrates to accomplish the same thing, so that’s what I used, and as
you’ll hear me say several times in the video, I was thrilled with the results!
While not exactly like a classic city ham, this was very close. The firm, moist
texture was great, the salt level was spot on, and since we used loin instead
of leg, there’s even a little less fat.

I’m afraid I won’t be able to help much with questions about
how to do this with bigger or different cuts, as this was my first foray into
home-cured ham, so if you are going to attempt this, please go to a good
butcher to get the exact same size “chops” that I used. If you do, and follow
these simple steps, I think you will have a holiday meal “to die for.” Sorry, but you didn’t expect me to do this entire post without one forced reference to
the play, did you? Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 Hamlets:

4 thick-cut (10-12 oz) center cut, boneless pork loin
“chops”

For the brine:

1/2 cup *kosher salt plus 1 tablespoon

(*if using fine table salt, you’d only need barely 1/3 cup)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp finely ground black pepper

1 tsp allspice

1/2 ground cloves

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 cups boiling water to dissolve salt and sugar

3 celery stalks (about 2 cups chopped)

1/2 yellow onion

3 cloves garlic

2 cups cold water to puree vegetables in blender, plus add
enough cold water to make 2 quarts total volume of brine

Brine for 48 hours before roasting

For the glaze:

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

pinch of cayenne

whole cloves as needed

Roast at 325 degrees F. until an internal temp of 145
degrees F. is reached.

Hi Chef John, can I ask what brand of kosher salt you're using here? I recently bought a box of Diamond Crystal brand and have realized that it weighs substantially less than the Morton kosher salt I had been using. I want to avoid having an over- or under-salted brine. I don't suppose you're one of those people who weighs their salt, are you? :)

Brining chicken is great. I typically brine chicken for at least 2 days, depending on the brine, due to the fact that chicken meat has a more impermeable membrane than other meats. If you have a smoker, then you just turned a deliciously brined piece of chicken into a masterpiece.

I just wanted to share a quick tip for brining. A clean, easy, and efficient way to brine or cure meat is in a sturdy freezer bag. This makes for easy clean up, it is cheap, and it allows the meat to be easily flipped or rearranged without actually touching the product itself. this is a big help with bacterial control (particularly if it is something which isn't being cured with a nitrite/nitrate), and facilitates a clean and easy step which is necessary is some preparations.

Don't buy bags marketed as "brining bags." These are a waste of money, for half the price, you can buy a box of every day ordinary freezer bags. I, personally, use 2.5 gallon jumbo size bag.

Once the brine is cooled, pour it into the bag. Put the chops (or whatever else) in the bag, and give a quick swish to make sure that all is well. Place the bag in a bowl to keep it upright if you prefer (I do this just to safeguard against leaks, particularly if the meat has cut bones... though I have never had one leak yet), throw it in the fridge, and you are good to go.

hi,i am from India and celery is expensive could you suggest a substitute. I googled high nitrate foods and spinach, red beetroot and lettuce came up the first two may not work with ham so, please suggest me a substitute